Froome retains Tour advantage
The hospital’s statement says “the long-term prognosis for this type of testicular tumor is excellent”.
Nibali was 7 minutes, 47 seconds behind race leader Chris Froome, in ninth place overall entering Friday’s stage. And with Froome in the pole position for so long, the weight of defending might get heavy for Team Sky, as it did in 2013, providing opportunities for the opposition. But clearly, time still hasn’t healed all wounds. Tinkoff Saxo became the seventh squad to win a stage this year in a sign of well-distributed honors in a race otherwise dominated by Froomes powerful Team Sky.
He has a lot of time he needs to make back if he wants to challenge Froome, so today could be the flawless time for him to launch his attack.
“My job is to come here, be open and talk to everyone”.
Froome insists he rides clean and he’s passed hundreds of doping tests.
Lance joined him for this stage of his latest fundraising ride in France, attracting hundreds of journalists.
“That’s done no-one any good”.
Armstrong, who famously overcame testicular cancer before winning his first Tour title, was taking part in the “One Day Ahead” charity event, which aims to raise money for leukemia research.
He rode his last Tour in 2010.
Tour de France leader Chris Froome has challenged his detractors to prove he has been doping before making unsubstantiated accusations against him. Froome will be looking to his teammates to control the race, making sure no one threatens his lead by joining a breakaway of riders ahead, while he tries to conserve energy for the mountains. French team AG2R La Mondiale is down two riders, Johan Van Summeren and Ben Gastauer.
Matt Wilson, an Australian sports director on the Orica-GreenEDGE team, concurred with Porte, saying: “I don’t think so” when asked if Armstrong’s participation could impact the Tour. Martin is still the highest Irishman in the GC, but drops from 16th to 22nd overall, with Roche climbing to 45th from 52nd.
Only the Alps loom as the last major obstacle between Chris Froome and a second Tour de France victory in Paris.
The eight-rider group had a large advantage atop the Col d’Aspin, the fourth of the day’s six categorised climbs. Morabito, who isn’t a contender for victory, appealed for “a bit of calm”, noting that the Tour is only in its second week. To deal with that, Froome is willing to take testing even further. He had begun the 117-mile stage from Pau to Cauterets more than 44 1/2 minutes behind.
Froome’s dominance is raising eyebrows and questions in a sport where trust remains in short supply, after Lance Armstrong’s era of systematic doping.
The British rider blew away his rivals on stage ten of the Tour to establish what looks like an unassailable lead of two minutes and 52 seconds over his nearest rival.